Protesters mark Roe v. Wade's 40th

As the pope tweeted his support, a sea of anti-abortion rights protesters converged near the Capitol to protest the policies of President Barack Obama, inaugurated there just four days earlier.

Gaining support from as far away as the Vatican, where Pope Benedict XVI tweeted his backing, organizers hoped this year’s March for Life would stand as a powerful statement at the start of Obama’s second term.

The march marked the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade this week, though it was pushed back several days to avoid conflict with Inauguration crowds.

Attendees waved signs and watched speakers on Jumbotrons — a rally first — and let loose with cheers at a mention of the pope’s support.

The march had fresh leadership this year. Founder Nellie Gray passed away last year after decades leading the event, and Jeanne Monahan, formerly with the Family Research Council, has taken the reins.

In an interview with POLITICO before the march, Monahan said all signs — including hotel reservations and media requests — pointed to record-breaking attendance. But there was no official count yet Friday.

In a video address, House Speaker John Boehner sent words of support, saying he hoped that abortion is made a "relic of the past" and promised to again work to pass the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, which would make permanent the Hyde Amendment that prevents taxpayer funding from going to abortion — but he gave no more specifics on potential federal anti-abortion legislation.

Monahan told the crowd the anti-abortion movement was winning the fight against abortion rights activists to claim the hearts and minds of youth.

"We are very hopeful because young Americans are predominantly pro-life. My hope as the March for Life president is really just to give a voice, more and more, to the young people," she told POLITICO.

A recent Gallup poll found that 54 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds still consider themselves “pro-choice,” while only 36 percent identified as “pro-life.”

She said under her leadership, the March for Life Education & Defense Fund would expand its educational component to attract attention on more than just one day a year.

Chelsea Rearick, a young woman who works at a crisis pregnancy center in Pennsylvania, stood with a crowd of women wearing stickers that said "40 years too many."

"I'm just hoping to catch the attention of the [legislators] and the politicians here in D.C., and hoping that they see this issue isn't dead," she told POLITICO.

After a rally on the mall, the protesters topped off the event with a march to the Supreme Court.

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 2:29 p.m. on January 25, 2013.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated Boehner’s remarks regarding the Hyde Amendment. He promised that Congress would work to pass the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, which would formally codify the Hyde Amendment.

CORRECTION: Corrected by: Elizabeth Titus @ 01/25/2013 03:32 PM
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated Boehner’s remarks regarding the Hyde Amendment. He promised that Congress would work to pass the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, which would formally codify the Hyde Amendment.